Dream Come True
by Kadevi
Summary: *completed* Everyone's resting in Imil before beginning the long journey home to Vale. There's going to be a ball in their honor. The perfect chance for everyone to get Isaac together with Mia...
1. Missing You

Anyway, when I heard about Golden Sun, I'd just got into this phase where fantasy (magic, swords, the works) was really cool to me. And I thought, Great story plot. Then I played through the whole game in a couple of weeks, and the story wasn't even finished (according to me) !!!! So I've basically been fantasizing about what happened after Jenna & Kraden were rescued.  
  
This chapter is a short thing about Jenna & Garet.  
  
REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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"Talking out loud"  
'Thinking'  
*~*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*~*  
~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~  
(Author's Notes)  
  
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Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, places, and etc. belong to Golden Sun & whoever owns/made Golden Sun. So there. Now you can't sue me. ^-^  
  
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Dream Come True  
By smileypal4eva  
  
Chapter 1: Missing You  
  
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Jenna sat on the steps at the top of the Mercury Lighthouse as the gentle flakes of snow fell around her. For the first time since she had been rescued, she had a complete feeling of safety… and freedom.  
  
'It's wonderful to be free,' Jenna couldn't help thinking. 'Even if it isn't home.' After being rescued by Isaac, Garet, and their fellow adepts and friends, they had traveled across many places Jenna had only heard about, and finally arrived in the wintry and peaceful setting of Imil.  
  
Jenna smiled, despite the cold. She was bundled in a light fur jacket that Isaac had bought for her once they had reached a town before going into the caves that would lead them to Imil. It was soft and warm, perfect for the current weather.  
  
"How can a fire adept like you wear so little clothes while I'm freezing?!" A familiar voice rang out, agitated. Jenna averted her gaze to the base of the stairs, and took in the sight of one of her friends. Jenna smiled softly. "I'm warm from within. Now, I would like to wonder how you can wear all those clothes and still be able to walk," she replied mildly, shifting her gaze back to the landscape.  
  
He scowled. "I'm cold, alright? Aren't you cold? Even Mia thinks it's cold, and she grew up here!" Jenna scooted over so the young man could sit down next to her. "Only difference is, she's only wearing her fur robe, while you're wearing… all that," Jenna laughed. The adept shot her a glare and sat down next to her, mumbling something incoherent. Jenna watched him out of the corner of her eye.  
  
'He's so handsome, even when he's mad. I wonder if he's fallen for Mia. She's pretty, with her long, blue-green hair and aqua-colored eyes. And she can heal. Plus, despite what Isaac, Garet, and Ivan say, she is a great fighter, and makes up for all who she hurts and kills by healing others.' Jenna thought sadly.  
  
"Well, I'm still freezing." He finally said.  
  
"Only you would need so many clothes to stay warm, Garet," Jenna said, shifting her gaze back to the guard. He still had a frown on his face. "I haven't been this cold since we rescued you," Garet muttered sullenly, shaking.  
  
Jenna became quiet and looked across the landscape to the snowy mountains. A warm hand caressed her cheek. Jenna looked miserably at her fellow fire adept. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up," Garet said gently. Jenna shook her head slowly, letting her rich brown hair fall from her shoulders. "It's okay. It just… brings back bad memories, is all," she whispered faintly.  
  
"Want to know something?" Garet said after a while. Jenna raised her sad, glazed eyes to her friend. Not waiting for an answer, Garet plundered on. "When you first disappeared, I was crushed. I - I felt so guilty, for you getting caught."  
  
"It wasn't even your fault! Nobody is to-" Jenna protested.  
  
Garet held up a hand to silence her, still gazing at the water to his left. "Let me finish what I want to say," he interrupted quietly. Jenna settled down to listen again. "Like I was saying, I felt really guilty, and I tried to cover that guilt up by trying to go after you and Felix and the others as fast as we could go. Of course, the others always changed my mind. Usually, Mia was the one who'd convince me to slow down.  
  
Basically, we met a lot of people along the way who were willing to help. And we also made many new friends." Garet swept his eyes across the white landscape, and finally his brown eyes settled on Jenna's. "Not to mention the fact that when we finally rescued you, most of my guilt vanished."  
  
Jenna looked at him questioningly. "Most?" She repeated. Garet hesitated, then nodded. "If we hadn't left you alone, at the entrance of the room of the Elemental Stars, you would never have been dragged along with Saturos and Menardi and Alex." Garet explained. "Maybe if we'd insisted that you two come with us….." he said.  
  
"No! It wasn't your fault, no matter what! Not your fault! Nobody was to blame, except for Saturos, Menardi, Alex, and maybe Felix! Not you, and not Isaac!" Jenna said violently, and she hugged him tightly, holding back the tears that threatened to spill. 'It could never be your fault, Garet,' Jenna thought.  
  
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Garet put his arms around Jenna's shoulders and hugged her hard. "If you want to cry, just go ahead. It always feels better to let everything out," he said soothingly, patting her back. Almost immediately Garet could feel Jenna's tense muscles relax a little as sobs racked her body. Garet gently smoothed her hair.  
  
After awhile, Jenna stopped crying, and she simply sat, encircled and safe in Garet's arms, head buried in his chest. 'This feels so right. I wish Jenna could be mine. I've missed her, and missed her, and missed her,' Garet thought numbly, a bit shocked that Jenna was hugging him.  
  
"I missed you," Jenna said, voice muffled.  
  
"I missed you, but there's something else, Jenna. It's important." Garet wrenched her away - gently - so he was looking into her brown eyes. "There was another reason why I hurried everyone to come after you. It was because - " Garet gulped, but his gaze didn't shift, and he didn't look away.  
  
"I loved you. I loved you, when our journey began at Sol Sanctum, when we were just seventeen, and I still do. I will always love you, Jenna." Garet said earnestly. Then, he pulled Jenna to him and kissed her passionately, as he had always wished to do.  
  
To his amazement, Jenna pressed her lips firmly against his, and wrapped her slim arms around his neck. When they broke apart, they stared at each other.  
  
"You - you loved me?" Jenna asked. Garet nodded seriously. Jenna stared into his eyes for a moment, and her gaze softened. She smiled up at him. "I knew that. Just one more thing before I tell you a secret of my own."  
  
Jenna slowly shifted her body so she sat in his lap. Now, with her head above his with the increased height, she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him gently. Hugging Jenna's body closer to his, Garet returned the favor, kissing her gently, pulling back, and then kissing her, again and again, softly and lovingly each time.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like centuries, but was really only a few moments later, the two broke the kiss. Jenna was smiling, a look of content on her face, and Garet was just amazed at what had just occurred. Jenna leaned in to whisper in his ear.  
  
"I love you."  
  
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So! How was it? You know me: always the romance fic writer. There's going to be another chapter in this, for another couple. I'll try to finish it soon so I can post it.  
  
smileypal4eva 


	2. Preparations

Thank you to all of you who reviewed!  
  
This chapter is (duh) another romance thing between Mia & Isaac. Why would I get them together? Well, Mia's the girl, and Isaac's the leader guy, so it's obvious… just kidding. I'd just put them together. Later I might even stretch the possibility of Mia & Garet by writing a fic on them! Well, actually, I'm just going to start. There might be another chapter to finish, because I don't want to go too long.   
  
REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Talking out loud"  
'Thinking'  
*~*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*~*  
~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~  
(Author's Notes)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, places, and etc. belong to Golden Sun & whoever owns/made Golden Sun. So there. Now you can't sue me. ^-^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dream Come True  
By smileypal4eva  
  
Chapter 2: Preparations  
  
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In their inn room in Imil…  
  
"I told you we should have gotten three rooms! Maybe even four, or five!" Garet complained. "Would you stop complaining, Garet?" Ivan said irritably. He was, unlike the people who were arguing, reading a book in his corner.  
  
"Will you be quiet, Ivan?" Garet shouted.  
  
"What's going on?" Mia ventured timidly as she stepped carefully into the room.  
  
"Garet & Ivan are fighting." Isaac said in a hurry.  
  
"Again?" Mia sighed and watched the yelling exchange.  
  
"Garet, Ivan, stop fighting already!" Isaac bellowed as they bickered.  
  
No one paid him any attention.  
  
"Look, Garet, just let it go…" Jenna hesitated even as she spoke.  
  
"Now we have to share beds!" Garet sighed loudly and dramatically.  
  
"Stop with all the drama!" Ivan rolled his eyes at Garet.  
  
"Shut up!" Garet roared at the younger adept.  
  
"Why can't everyone just stop fighting?!" Isaac gave up and threw his hands up in the air. He sat down on a bed and put his head in his hands. 'I'm so tired of trying to stop everyone from fighting…' He thought miserably.  
  
"Why don't you? I'm not yelling at everyone in the world, unlike you!" Ivan shouted right back.  
  
"Why you little…" Garet lunged at Ivan.  
  
"Come on, all of you!" Mia shouted, and let all of her Mercury Djinn fly out of their hiding places. They plunged and rocketed onto Garet so hard, he actually changed direction and hit the wall.  
  
"Ow! My hand! And my head!" Garet groaned and slid to the floor, holding his fist. Ivan was white-faced and scrambled behind Mia. Kraden was watching all of this with amusement.   
  
Mia stalked right up to Garet. Isaac and the others looked on. When Mia got involved… well, you didn't want to be there.  
  
"You should be ashamed of yourself!" She cried.  
  
"What did you do that for?" Garet yelled, still nursing his bruised knuckles. "Hail, Sleet, all of you! Come back!" Mia instructed. They all bounced back into her pockets and hid. However, her first Djinn Fizz, popped onto her shoulder and watched the entire ordeal.  
  
"What did I DO that for?" Mia matched Garet's voice in loudness and strength now. She hadn't raised her voice when they had Sheba around, so Garet was obviously unused to her loud tone when she yelled at all of them for shouting at each other. Sheba was now safe in her home. Felix had been made to wait at Vault for them in the jail until they were completely sure of his intentions. As for Alex… well, he was in the hands of the gods now, who were greatly disappointed in him and had intervened.  
  
"I DID that, because I did NOT want Ivan to have a black eye right before our welcoming banquet! What were you thinking? You're always fighting! With me, or Ivan, or poor Isaac over there, who's always trying to restore the peace between you two!" Mia hissed.  
  
"You could have just healed it!" Garet complained.  
  
"Stop complaining, and yes, I could have, but that is NOT the point! The point, is you two had better stop fighting, or it'll be easier to freeze you with my Djinn and haul you along with us than let you fight and bicker with Ivan everyday. I'll ask the inn owner to get some more rooms for us if you want, but remember, you already SPENT most of our already dry supply of money, so we only have enough for two more rooms!"  
  
Jenna offered a hand to Garet, who looked rightly ashamed of himself. "Sorry, Mia…" Garet sighed, rubbing his head, which had a bruise on it. Mia sighed too, and tried to smile. "Hey, it's not your fault I'm being irritatingly annoying today," she said softly, putting her hand over his bruise. There was an odd coldness in the room suddenly, and then Mia put her hand over his, and healed the bruises there too. "Sorry Ivan," Garet muttered.  
  
"All of you pick out your best, presentable clothes. Jenna, I think there are some warmer dresses we can buy to fit you. I'm going to ring up two more rooms. If you wanted more rooms, Garet, all you had to do was ask!" Mia said, exasperated. Garet reddened. "Uh, oops?"  
  
"Well, even after getting those rooms, we'll have to share. Let's see… Kraden can get one room. Ivan can get the other. Garet, I suppose you'll have to share with someone. I'm NOT putting you with Isaac or Ivan. You'll kill them by tomorrow morning. Jenna, will you room with him?" Mia asked.  
  
"Oh, sure! I'll make sure he doesn't kill anyone." Garet started to protest, but shut up with a calculated glare from Isaac. "That only leaves one room. Isaac, do you mind… sharing?" Mia hesitated as she asked. Isaac blushed and nodded, giving Mia a silent thank-you with his eyes for helping stop the argument. "Alright! I'm going to get those rooms. Remember, you should all be ready by the time I get those rooms! We have to go to the weapons & armor shop!" With those few words and a genuine, sweet smile, she left and walked down the stairs.  
  
Ivan sighed in relief, but just in case, sat next to Isaac and began reading again. Isaac looked at the younger boy from Vault. "Hey, we have to start getting ready," he said to all of them. "I think Kraden can just stay here. After all, it's going to be really cold and icy outside." Jenna told all of them. Kraden nodded tiredly, and Ivan got up. "I'll get ready first. Then someone else can use the changing room."  
  
Ivan gathered some clothes and locked the door behind him. A few minutes later, he came back in, wearing a green cape that reached just below his chest and were short sleeves over a mid-thigh-length purple tunic, which was tied with a yellow sash. Loose breeches of a rich golden-red-brown color went over his boots to complete the outfit. All his Djinn were lined up on his shoulders; three on each shoulder, and his first Djinn, Gust, perching on the "lead" spot, on top of Ivan's head. Ivan rolled his violet eyes as Gust jumped on his head and messed up his formerly neat hair.  
  
When no one got up, Garet sighed. "I guess it's my turn then," he grumbled, but Jenna shoved his shoulder and laughed. He whirled around and glared, then grabbed a whole bunch of his things and left, slamming the door behind him. A few seconds later, he opened it again. "Sorry!" The door closed, more gently this time. Jenna started giggling helplessly, and so did Isaac. Ivan stared bewildered at the two Valeans, then went back to reading his book.  
  
Garet finally opened the door, to see Jenna and Isaac laughing so hard tears were coming out of their eyes. He narrowed his brown ones. "What's so funny?" He demanded, tugging at his sword belt, which was worn over a chestnut and green tunic. The tunic was tied at the shoulders, and was short sleeved, so he had worn a brown woolen shift underneath. Purple breeches, and boots with a brown over-cover finished everything up. (Hey, if you have that little guide that shows Isaac's, Mia's, Ivan's, and Garet's pictures, you know how hard it is to describe everything!!)  
  
Jenna shook her head, and tried to stifle her laughter as Mia came up the stairs. "Here you go, Jenna," Mia said cheerfully, handing her two piles of clothing. "I wasn't sure if you preferred a dress or not, so there's just the dress, and the tunic and skirt," Mia said, indicating them. Jenna nodded slowly. "I'll stick with the tunic and breeches… for tonight, anyway," she said, glancing at Garet, who was bright red, and looking like he was ready to kill Isaac, who was trying to stop laughing, with no success whatsoever. Garet just turned away and tried to ignore his childhood friend, and straightened his fiery red-brown hair in the mirror.  
  
"Isaac, you're going to make Garet go paranoid!" Mia admonished gently, pushing his shoulder. Garet was looking nervous and straightening and re-straightening his tunic and sword-belt, with the sword attached. Isaac stopped laughing, and waved his hand in a sorry motion. "Sorry, Garet. Just when you slammed the door, all mad at Jenna, Ivan, and me, and then you opened it up and said sorry to all of us, it was so funny. It isn't you!"  
  
Mia giggled, and walked over to Garet, who couldn't get his tunic straight. "Really, you did that?"  
  
Garet nodded, and took off the sword. "This will make it more balanced," he said, shaking his head and glaring at Isaac, who was starting to gather up his clothes. Mia carefully straightened his tunic, and then attached the belt with quick hands. She finished just as Jenna came out.  
  
"This is a great selection, Mia!" Jenna said enthusiastically. The full-sleeved mid-thigh length dusty-red tunic fit perfectly with her body, slits going up to her hips to ensure easy movement. The dark orange-golden skirt was ankle length, and her brown boots finished it up. When looked at as a whole, she looked like a walking tree. She looked elegant and comfortable, to say in the least.  
  
"You look great, Jenna!" Garet said, astonished, as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Mia slapped his chin back up. "You drool anymore, Garet, and you'll get it all over the floor and your clothes," she giggled. Jenna started chuckling at Garet's surprised and embarrassed expression. "It's okay, Garet, as long as it's me you're drooling over." She dropped her fur coat onto a bed and stretched happily. "Let's start moving our stuff into our room, Garet." She said cheerfully.  
  
Mia nodded as Isaac closed the door behind him. "Your room is at the end of the hall. This room can be Kraden's, Ivan's room is on the story above this level, and so then Isaac & I will have the uppermost room." Mia hoisted up a chest of Isaac's things and started walking up the stairs, while Garet and Jenna did the same for their things.  
  
As Mia walked up the stairs, her thoughts wandered to a certain golden-haired Valean. 'I wonder if I should wear my ice-blue or the aqua-green tunic-dress.' She mused. 'Would I look better with my hair up as usual, or with it down?' As she started getting ready, she experimented with several hairstyles and settled with just leaving it down. "I hope Isaac likes it," Mia breathed, walking back down the stairs. 'Why do you care if Isaac likes it?' A little nagging part of her asked.  
  
Mia blushed and walked quickly into Kraden's room.  
  
Mia sat down in the chair Ivan had been recently occupying, fully dressed in formal attire. She unconsciously, in a nervous gesture, smoothed down the white folds of her ankle-length dress, which had violet designs at the bottom, above the white over-covering of her similar white boots. The Imil-designed ice-blue tunic was also violet from the waist down, and she was kept warm by the turtleneck bit. For once, she had left off her blue-cape, and kept her blue hair loose instead of in the tight ponytail she always had it in.  
  
Fizz popped up again, this time chittering in a strange language. It hopped from her shoulder to her lap, and sat there, cheeping under Mia's light fingers.  
  
Ivan was reading again. "What's the book, Ivan?" Mia asked. "Oh, it's about alchemy. Isaac lent it to me," he said, looking up and smiling happily at Mia. "Thanks for helping me before," he said just as Garet and Jenna came back in. Both were flushed and short of breath. Mia knowingly raised an eyebrow. "Seems to me you two must have had quite a time in your room," she acknowledged. Garet turned even redder, and Jenna tried smothering a giggle. "Do you mind if we go downstairs and get something to eat first?" Ivan asked, forlornly closing his book. "Sure, go ahead. I'll stay up here and wait for Isaac." Mia said. However, Garet stayed behind, telling Jenna to get to know little Ivan better.  
  
"I'm not little!" Ivan protested.  
  
"Littler than me!" Garet shot back.  
  
"Will both of you stop it?!" Jenna and Mia snapped at the same time. They exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes. Ivan and Jenna went downstairs, and Garet sat on a barrel next to Mia.  
  
A few seconds after Jenna and Ivan were gone, Isaac came out, holding a pile of clothing in his arms. "Where's our room?" Isaac asked. "The uppermost level," Garet answered, watching as Mia played with Fizz and Spritz. Unexpectedly, Fizz, jumped onto Garet and didn't stop. "Hey!"  
  
"Fizz, stop that!" Mia scolded. Spritz disappeared somewhere in her clothing. Fizz did the same. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. Garet just shook his head, grinning.  
  
Isaac appeared at the door again, but he was only wearing his blue-violet breeches and brown boots. His upper body was completely bare, and he held two tunics and two long pieces of cloth for selection.  
  
Mia's eyes widened as his chest muscles rippled when he moved his arms and gestured. "Guys, should I wear the yellow cape and the blue-violet tunic, or the dark blue tunic and the red cape?" Isaac asked. "Umm… uh…" Mia was blushing and at a loss for words.  
  
"We think you should wear the blue-violet tunic and the golden-yellow cape, right Mia?" Garet nudged her gently. "Oh! I mean, yes, of course…" Mia looked down at Fizz, who cocked its head questioningly at its mistress, as if asking, 'Why are you stammering so much?'  
  
Isaac stared at Mia for a long moment, then nodded and went back into the changing room. It was silent for some minutes. Then, Garet burst out laughing. Mia stared at him, bewildered. "What's so funny?" She asked curiously. "You… you!… and… and Isaac!" Garet couldn't stop laughing.  
  
"What about me and Isaac?" Mia demanded. "It's just, you should have seen your face!" Garet choked out. Isaac opened the door and came out, looking magnificent in his blue-violet tunic. The brown belt tied around his waist, and there was armor lashed on over his chest. Isaac's sword was slung over his back, and the golden-yellow cape was tied expertly around his neck. The knot ended up on his left shoulder, and two ends trailed over his front- and back- sides, the shorter end on the front. He had unsuccessfully tried to tame his unruly golden hair.  
  
Garet still didn't know that Isaac had come out. "You were blushing so hard! Your cheeks looked just like Isaac's when he had to carry you back to Lalivero after we defeated Saturos and Menardi! All flushed and red!" Garet roared, and continued laughing. Mia looked up and noticed Isaac, who was standing at the doorway, also blushing. "When was I carried?" Mia asked him. Isaac turned redder. "Garet!" He yelled. Garet's head snapped up and he stopped laughing. "Your face is flushed right now too!" He laughed, set off all over again. Mia and Isaac both blushed harder.  
  
"Oh come on, let's just go downstairs. We have a banquet to get to!" Garet said, still chuckling. 'If that doesn't bring those clueless two together, I don't know what will!' He congratulated himself. Forge popped up from his shoulder and looked at him. "Isaac and Mia just needed a little push, that's all," he said obviously. Forge silently slipped back into Garet as he continued to grin ridiculously.  
  
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That was so much longer than the last chapter, maybe because it's not just pure romance! It has some humor, too.  
  
One last chapter, I think, and this story will be finished!  
  
Smileypal4eva  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. Caught Unawares

Again, a THANK YOU to all of you who reviewed!  
  
This chapter finishes the story, and is mostly seen from Isaac's point of view (in third person, of course), although Mia will be focused on; Mia & Isaac all the way!!  
  
  
REMEMBER TO REVIEW AFTER YOU READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Talking out loud"  
'Thinking'  
*~*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*~*  
~~~~~~Scene change~~~~~~  
(Author's Notes)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters, places, and etc. belong to Golden Sun & whoever owns/made Golden Sun. So there. Now you can't sue me. ^-^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dream Come True  
By smileypal4eva  
  
Chapter 3: Caught Unawares  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
we're still in Imil, everyone...  
  
  
Isaac lifted his arm in front of his face, to block the onslaught of snow flurries from his eyes. "Why can't the weather have stayed nice?!" Isaac yelled to Garet. The weather had been pretty respectable... cloudy and cold, and it had only been snowing a little. Isaac had hoped that it would stay that way while they went to the weapons & armor shop. No such luck.  
  
"It's freezing out here! So much colder than usual!" Mia said, teeth chattering uncontrollably. It was so cold, her insides were all tense, and she felt like she was about to snap. In an effort to keep warm, she had her arms crossed across her chest, but it wasn't doing much good. Also, her left leg, which she had broken in the Suhalla Desert while trying to fight and heal her friends at the same time, was throbbing with pain.  
  
Suddenly she felt warmth at her shoulders, waist, and hips. And her arms, especially. She looked up, shivering. Right into Isaac's blue-violet gaze. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to fall apart from the cold or something." Isaac hugged her close, making her slightly warmer. Just standing on her leg made it ache; the cold and snow made it so much more worse.  
  
She turned around so she was facing the person who had helped her so many times. The one person who knew how hard it was to heal during the long weeks traveling across the unknown lands, and the pressures you were faced when attempting to help someone else. "It's not so much the cold as it is my leg," Mia choke, and then gasped in pain when the wind whirled wildly around them. Isaac watched as her self-control evaporated. She huddled at his chest, shivering.  
  
"My leg is hurting so much, I can hardly walk," she gasped again, gritting her teeth together, trying to block the pain out.  
  
Isaac picked her up. Mia grabbed onto his neck instinctively and let out a small cry of surprise. She looked at Isaac, whose face was a mere few inches across from hers. The snow made it hard to see, though.  
  
"I'll carry you to the shop! Then I'll try to take away some of the pain, alright?" Isaac yelled over the roar of wind, as he began trudging after Jenna, Garet, and Ivan, who had walked ahead of them. Isaac felt Mia rest her head on his shoulder, and blushed. It was strange having the one you loved in your arms in a blizzard!  
  
"Alright. Thank you so much, Isaac," Mia breathed in his ear. Just the sound of her melodic voice sent shivers down his spine. Isaac tried to keep his composure and dignity, at least.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm always here for you, Mia."  
  
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Mia snuggled in the crook of Isaac's neck, warm and comfortable, despite the pain in her leg that flared whenever Isaac took a misstep in the snow.  
  
She inhaled, and smelled a mint-like scent in his hair. 'Most likely he minted the water, trying to get it neat,' Mia though wryly to herself. She knew now; she loved Isaac so much it hurt, whenever she saw him talking to girls, even if he wasn't interested in them. She would feel a stab of jealousy; then she'd push those feelings back, and convince herself that he wasn't hers to love.  
  
Mia felt Isaac stop. "Why are we stopping?" She asked. But a harsh blow of wind whirled around them at the same moment, making her wince and tense up in pain. Isaac shifted her carefully.  
  
"Are you okay, Mia?" Isaac shouted. The wind carried his voice away, and Mia wasn't even sure if she heard him. 'Gods, this is the wildest blizzard we've ever gone through yet!' Mia thought, shutting her eyes against the white blankness. "I'm okay! Do you think we're there yet?!" Mia yelled right back.  
  
Suddenly warmth enveloped her body, and bright lights. She heard some gasps, and some frightened babbling. That was all she made out before unbearable pain in her formerly broken leg made her cry out and faint. Right before that, she heard a name that almost broke her heart.  
  
"Isaac!!"  
  
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(same from where I left off, from Garet's focusing and thoughts)  
  
  
"Isaac!" Garet leapt to catch Isaac before he fell onto the ground. Isaac cringed, shivering with cold. "Stupid idiot! You're almost frozen!" Garet scolded, not really meaning a word he said. Isaac, however, despite his own discomfort, stood up on his own, brushing off snow and ice at the same time. Jenna closed the door, and the wind now howled outside the weapons shop.  
  
"Is Mia okay?" Isaac gasped as soon as he was able to speak. "Mia? I think so. She fainted when you put her on the bed. Why? Is something wrong?" Garet asked, immediately concerned for the Mercury Adept. "Her broken leg started hurting from the cold, so I had to carry her half the way to the shop. She could hardly walk!" Isaac said defensively when Garet raised a brow at him.  
  
"That could be half the reason, my friend."  
  
Isaac flushed, but walked over to Mia, who was on the bed. The potion dealer was tending to Mia. "She'll be alright. Just fainted," she said kindly. Isaac looked gratefully at her. "Thank you. I'll help ease the pain," Isaac said quietly, his gaze returning to Mia. The potion dealer smiled knowingly. "We'll all be downstairs when you're ready," and she left.  
  
Isaac raised his hands, still shaking, over her leg. A golden light enveloped him, and Ivan popped up beside him to watch, his book forgotten. Isaac usually reserved his Psynergy for fighting, so they didn't watch him cure a whole lot. Besides, the last time they had used it, was before the met Mia, in Imil. After that, Mia had taken charge of all the healing.  
  
As the glow disappeared, Isaac lifted his arms away. "She'll wake up soon. Now I need to get all this snow off!" He pulled a chair next to the fireplace, and began shaking his things. By the end of the ordeal, he was warm, and his clothes were mostly dry, for he had used his cloak for protection from the snow. Jenna also pulled up a chair, and sat down next to him, and they began talking quietly.  
  
Garet, on the other hand, watched Mia and Ivan. Ivan was, once again, perched on a chair, reading a book. This time, it was on the Elemental Stars.  
  
"Isaac...?" Mia stirred and blinked her blue-green eyes sleepily. They were glazed over. "No, it's Garet. But Isaac is here. Wait a moment. Isaac! Jenna! Ivan! Mia's awake!"  
  
Ivan immediately dropped the book and turned around to face Mia. "Are you okay?" He asked earnestly, face etched with worry. Isaac and Jenna were right behind him. Mia smiled, and coughed. "I'm fine, really. Why don't we go downstairs now, and have some fun?" Mia asked, sitting up. Then she coughed again, and turned pink. "Isaac, you think you can heal me? I think I have a cold or something," Mia said shortly, giggling.  
  
Isaac put one hand behind her neck, and glowed for a moment. Then, he let go. "Your cold's probably gone now. Shall we?" Isaac held out an arm gallantly, and his Djinni Flint hopped onto his hand, and cocked its head at Mia, who laughed. Ivan led the way, and Garet and Jenna after, followed by Isaac and Mia.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(near the end of the gathering... more Mia now)  
  
  
"And I propose another toast, to the young four who rescued Master Kraden and Jenna have ultimately brought peace to this world!" The mayor raised his wine cup, and other people shouted "Here here!" and drank to it. Jenna, Mia, and Ivan didn't drink anything. Isaac took a tiny sip; Garet just drank the whole cup. "I think we'll have to expect a hangover tomorrow," Mia whispered to Jenna, who immediately began laughing, and they traded jokes and things about Garet.  
  
Everyone began pairing off and dancing. Several handsome young knights visiting Imil about a problem of hungry grizzly bears asked Mia to dance, who accepted, seemingly very reluctant to do so. She cast one last glance at Isaac, who was talking to Garet, and then turned back to the knight.  
  
Mia danced for awhile, listening politely to the "heroic" tales the knights had to give her. Frankly, she thought they sounded overly exaggerated. 'I mean, how often is it you meet not one, two, or three, but SIX rabid bears bearing down on your trail? This so-might-be-called knight SAYS he defeated them with one swipe of his sword, but I seriously doubt it. I mean, Isaac was good, but even he needed a few stabs of his sword.  
  
Mia finally got away, and stayed chatting with her friends in Imil, whom she hadn't seen for quite a while. Although quite tame, the conversation did reach its peak once:  
  
"You are so lucky, Mia!" Sherill, one of the older girls.  
  
"Why am I lucky? I've had go through months, fighting monsters and intelligent rats, through the desert and through blizzards, and you call me LUCKY? Not to mention that we often have nothing to sleep on except the ground." Mia said incredulously.  
  
"I know why she thinks you're lucky," Teresa said in a sing-song voice. Teresa was Sherill's younger sister by a year.  
  
"Can you please tell me what prompted you to say I am lucky, when I obviously was not?" Mia asked suspiciously. And curiously.  
  
"It's a'cause you got to travel with two cute GUYS, who are so handsome, they'd break a pretty maiden's heart!" Briala sighed. She was one of the prettiest and youngest, at sixteen; who could, after all, resist her? She had ebony black hair, thick long lashes, and a petite mouth, not to mention those unusual hazel-flecked emerald eyes.  
  
"And don't the little sweetie, Ivan. He's so sweet and so mature!"  
  
"I've danced with Garet. Let me tell you, he's strong AND gentle. Pretty rare in a guy, you know!" Samantha said pointedly. The girls giggled, and Mia took that time to answer.  
  
"Handsome? I don't know about you, but when you're traveling with them night and day, the handsome part starts fading!" Mia protested, blushing furiously. She tried to calm down, so the other girls wouldn't notice that she had something for Isaac, Garet, or Ivan. No such luck.  
  
"Oooh! You LIKE one of them!" Lara squealed quietly, clapping her hands together. She was just as old as Sherill, but always acted so much younger.  
  
"I - I do NOT!" Mia denied, turning away.  
  
"You do! Oh look at her blush!" Sherill giggled, and smoothed out her dress.  
  
"I - I don't like any of them!" Mia protested weakly. The other girls quickly shushed her. "If you like one of them, it's our duty as your friends to get you together! Which one is it? The brown-haired guard - Garet, I think - or Isaac - he's the one with the golden-yellow hair - or Ivan, the gentleman - right girls?" Sherill wondered.  
  
"I think I know who she likes!" Garet sat down next to Mia, and all the girls blushed and giggled shyly. "Garet, these are my friends. We're girls. Maybe you should leave," Mia said flatly.  
  
"OH, that's alright. I'll spare some of my time to help two of my dear friends get together." Jenna grinned, and walked up behind him, hitting his head. "Hey! Jenna!" Garet complained. "Girl talk, Garet. Please leave," Jenna said coolly, pushing him out of his chair and sitting in it. Garet rolled his eyes, but he left.  
  
"Mia likes Isaac," Jenna said bluntly. Several gasps of delight went around the circle, and Mia blushed again. "Jenna!" She hissed. Jenna winked. "Hey, a girl like you DESERVES Isaac. He needs someone to cheer him up. Too serious for his own good. Besides, I have Garet now." Jenna said flippantly.  
  
"Mia, would you like to dance?"  
  
All the girls turned their heads. Isaac was standing, slightly behind Jenna, to the left of Mia, whose cheeks flushed. "Of course she would! Come on, Mia! Isaac never dances, so you take this opportunity to get to know him better!" Jenna literally pushed Mia out of her chair into Isaac's arms. Isaac managed to keep from stumbling and led Mia to dance.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(back to Isaac...)  
  
  
Isaac looked at Mia as they began dancing. "What were you talking about? Jenna seemed awful glad to get rid of you," Isaac asked. Mia, who had just become a little calm again, flushed. "Just some girl things," she finally settled with, and they whirled around silently.  
  
After a while, Mia came up with a question. "Why do you dance so well? Usually, my toes get stepped on a lot," Mia marveled at the way Isaac was able to lead beautifully. He was as graceful as he was handsome, Mia realized with a pang.  
  
Isaac laughed merrily, his whole face lighting up. "Squires and pages have to learn how to dance properly. It's required. Garet, especially, enjoyed those lessons in dancing. He wanted to show off to Jenna how graceful he was," Isaac managed to choke out when he stopped laughing somewhat. Mia began giggling too, at the thought of Garet practicing and practicing at something like dancing.  
  
"Well, not matter, you dance more beautifully than anyone I've ever done it with," Mia admitted when the humor was gone.  
  
"Actually, it's really because my partner is someone I'm so close with," Isaac whispered in her ear. Mia automatically tensed as shivers raced through her body at the thought of Isaac so close to her.  
  
"Are you alright? You tensed there for a moment." Isaac asked, worried again. "No, it's nothing, just a little tired." Mia answered, sighing. 'Gosh, why'd I do that?' she scolded herself.  
  
"We can rest on that seat over there," Isaac said, and led her to a small and relatively soft couch. In fact, it was so close, that Isaac and Mia had to literally sit right next to each other.  
  
Isaac almost shivered when he watched Mia tuck her hair behind her ear. 'She's perfect. She's kind, and she's brave, and loves helping whatever needs helping,' he thought in a daze. "Mia..." Isaac began.  
  
"Yes?" Mia looked up at him, her eyes wavering. In that moment, Isaac saw unmistakable desire for him, in those beautiful blue-green eyes. Then it was gone. 'Did I see that?' Isaac decided he did and gathered his courage. And he kissed her, softly at first, then more confidently when Mia didn't pull away.  
  
When Isaac lifted his head, Mia reached for him. "No, wait. I'm not giving you up. Do you know how hard it is, watching you every day, and holding myself back?" she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down. When their lips touched, Mia moaned quietly, letting passion and love overtake her.  
  
Isaac reached up a gentle hand and cupped her soft cheek gently, stroking it with a feather-light touch. Mia, caught unawares except for the intense feelings she shared with Isaac, shivered, and gasped, breaking the kiss. She smiled serenely, almost seductively, at Isaac. "I love you," she breathed, panting from lack of air.  
  
Isaac could only whisper those same words back as he lowered his lips to hers again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Of course, the two lovebirds were oblivious to their watchers. Consisting of Garet, Jenna, and Ivan on a wider couch not farther away. And Mia's friends, of course.  
  
"You know, I thought they'd never get together," Garet sighed. "What you said before we left really did the trick," Ivan observed. He had received the story from Garet when they had arrived at the weapons & armor shop. "Of course it did. I'm the gallant and intelligent knight, after all. Surely getting two of my closest friends together would be easy," he boasted.  
  
"Oh, I don't CARE how gallant you are. Just kiss me," Jenna snapped, not rudely, but impatiently. "All right," Garet said, taking one last glance at his two friends while Ivan escaped. Jenna giggled. "Hey, why can't you pay attention to me for once?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
later that night... in their room...  
  
  
Mia ran her fingers lightly over Isaac's bare back. He wore nothing from the waist up, due to the warmth from the nearby fireplace. His tunic and chest armor was tossed precariously in a corner. Isaac returned the caress, and kissed her neck, gently and softly. Her dress was half-unlaced, and she shivered involuntarily as heat rushed over her body.  
  
"Isaac," Mia admonished, tilting her head forward so he'd have best access. "Or would you rather I kissed here instead?" Isaac answered, taking the words from her mouth and tapping her lips. Mia tilted her head in response to meet Isaac's lips. The only other thing she was aware of was the fire dancing happily, the flames throwing light all about the room. And after that, she was only aware of Isaac.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
  
yay! Isaac & Mia are together!  
  
Please tell me what you think! Flames are acceptable (not my favorite, but they're okay, as long as its not too mean). Review, review, review!!  
  
smileypal4eva  
  
^-^ 


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